ATLANTA, October 21, 2009 – This fall the High Museum of Art will present an array of new and ongoing educational family programming to coincide with the special exhibitions Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius and John Portman: Art and Architecture. In addition to popular educational activities such as Toddler Thursdays and Second Sunday Fundays, there will be special holiday programming, art-making activities and special children's book-signings. All educational programming is free with Museum admission and free to members. No registration is required.

October
Halloween: Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Children wearing costumes will receive free admission to the High Museum of Art!

Book-signing: The Jungle Grapevine, by Alex Beard, Saturday, October 31, 11a.m. to 1 p.m. Join Alex Beard, artist and debut author of "The Jungle Grapevine," for a book-signing in the High's main Museum Shop on Halloween. An art-making activity to coincide with the theme of the book will be available. In "The Jungle Grapevine," Beard reinterprets his memories of the African savanna to create a modern retelling of the classic telephone game.

November
Book-signing: Are You Blue Dog's Friend?
Wednesday, November 22, 1:30 p.m. Join George Rodrigue, artist and author of "Are You Blue Dog's Friend," in the High's main Museum Shop, where he will sign books and paint for the crowd. This picture book celebrates friendship in all its shapes and sizes. Through a series of call-and-response questions, readers are introduced to the funny, strange and unique qualities that make friendships come alive.

Go All Night at the High Museum of Art,
Friday, November 27, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Don't miss the High's most popular annual event: Go All Night! Visitors can view the special exhibitions Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius, John Portman: Art and Architecture and Alec Soth: Black Line of Woods, and experience an entertainment-filled evening with art-making activities, family films, live theater performances, bedtime stories and yoga for the whole family.

Hands-on for the Holidays,
November 28–29, 1 to 4 p.m. Drop-in studio projects will explore Leonardo da Vinci's creative process and imagination. Sculpt your own miniature horse inspired by Leonardo's famous Sforza monument, and experiment with different drawing tools.
*Please note that the Museum is closed on Friday, January 1, 2010.

December
Hands-on for the Holidays
December 26–January 3*, 1 to 4 p.m. The drop-in studio project will explore Leonardo da Vinci's creative process and imagination. Experiment with different drawing tools and create a sketchbook of your very own!
*Please note that the Museum is closed on Friday, January 1, 2010.

Ongoing
Toddler Thursdays
Thursdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Greene Family Education Center
Parents and their children ages 2 to 4 are encouraged to look at works of art within the Museum's special exhibitions and permanent collections to create a take-home masterpiece.

November:

• November 5: Painted "Porcelain" Plates: Look carefully at the plates in the porcelain collection and find an idea for painting your own plate.
• November 12: Foil Color Collages: El Anatsui's colorful "Taago" sculpture was created using recycled foil and metal tabs from bottles he collected. By shaping and gluing aluminum foil, we will create our own foil collage, and use tissue paper and yarn to add color and texture.
• November 19: Pop-up Turkey Hands: Trace your hand to create a fun and unique Thanksgiving-inspired turkey pop-up card—just like your favorite pop-up book at home!

December:

• December 3: Celebrate Architecture: Explore the art in the architecture all around us! Build your own architectural elements for a new museum designed by you.
• December 10: Memory Jars: Learn about shape and texture by creating a simple pinch pot embedded with hidden objects using air-dry Model Magic.
• December 17: Frosty Fun: Experiment with melting ice and Kool-Aid powder to see what happens when the melting ice meets dry pigment, creating a painting of flowing color.
• December 24: Winter Wonderscapes: The weather outside may be frightful, but our studio is full of delight. Draw up some wintry fun to create a mixed-media landscape using cotton balls and oil pastels!

Second Sunday Fundays: November 8, December 13, January 10, February 14, 1 to 4 p.m. Activities will include art-making, family tours and music with themes that relate to our exhibitions.

November: Spaces and Places

• Creation Station in Workshops 1 and 2: Let the architectural works of John Portman inspire your own modernist sculpture.
• Creation Station in the Atrium: Design a work of art that moves in our mobile art-making studio.
• Adventures in Architecture Family Tours: Learn about our beautiful buildings as you get to know the architects of the High, Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, then visit the "John Portman: Art and Architecture" exhibition for a special look at an Atlanta icon. Tours begin in the Wieland Lobby at 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m.
• Special Activity: Work with AIA: Construct your own architectural masterpiece in the Stent Atrium, with career presentations by architects in the Hill Auditorium.

December: Celebrate This December: A World of Holidays

• Creation Station in Workshop 1: Get ready for the longest night of the year by making solstice candles.
• Creation Station in Workshop 2: Design dazzling decorative prints using holiday symbols.
• Creation Station in the Atrium: In celebration of the Islamic Holiday Eid ul-Adha, create your own Eid Card.
• Performances in the Hill Auditorium: Mr. Michael Levine performs traditional Hanukkah and Christmas music for your enjoyment. Performances at 1:30 and 3 p.m. Young Audiences artist Chetter Galloway engages his audience in thoughtful Kwanzaa-themed storytelling. Performances at 2 and 3:30 p.m.

Weekend Family Tour: Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Meet in the Greene Family Learning Gallery and explore the High as a family on this interactive guided adventure through the galleries.

Greene Family Learning Gallery
The Greene Family Learning Gallery comprises five hands-on activity areas: Building Buildings, Transforming Treasure, Making a Mark, Sculpting Spaces and Telling Stories. These discovery activity areas are inspired by some of the most popular objects in the Museum's collection.

High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art, founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, is the leading art museum in the southeastern United States. With more than 11,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum of Art has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art. The High's media arts department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005 the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano that more than doubled the Museum's size, creating a vibrant "village for the arts" at the Woodruff Arts Center in midtown Atlanta. For more information about the High, please visit www.high.org.

The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is ranked among the top four arts centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus as one not-for-profit organization. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. To learn more about the Woodruff Arts Center, please visit www.woodruffcenter.org.